Dark Blue

by ThatOneGuy

Chapter 1

Fluttershy knew that it was dangerous to be out late at night so far out of town, but she was positive that she’d seen an injured bunny limp down the road. Naturally, Fluttershy was terrified for her life, being this far out of town this late at night, alone. In fact, she was shaking as she walked. However, her love of animals simply wouldn’t allow for her to just sit by and let an injured animal go away uncared for.

Thanking Celestia, or rather, Luna, for the clear night and the bright moon, she ventured outside of the town and onto the winding road. The autumn trees, with their leafless branches, reminded her of scary tales of ghosts and ghouls as the breeze made the branches scratch and shake. Letting out a little ‘Yeep!’ she steeled herself for the poor bunny’s sake and pressed on. Still, the shadows of the evil-looking trees frightened her even more than her own shadow.

She was starting to wish she had brought somepony along with her.

About ten yards ahead, she caught a glimpse of the bunny again as it swiftly moved off the side of the trail into a large bed of boulders. How is that bunny moving so fast, Fluttershy wondered to herself, and why is it running away from me? The bed of boulders stretched high and wide, almost resembling a cave, as a high ceiling boulder covered the top of the bed. Inside, it was so… dark. Fluttershy gulped quietly, but resolved to help that poor bunny no matter the cost.

“It’s okay little friend, you can come out,” she said hopefully. To her dismay, the bunny didn’t emerge. She sighed, knowing she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she didn’t go in there, and took a tentative step forward. You can do this, Fluttershy, she thought. She crept farther and farther into darkness, until finally she couldn’t see. She was beginning to regret going in, but there was no turning back now. She continued slowly, jumping at every little noise she heard.

“How far does this cave reach?” she wondered aloud. The darkness was almost tangible, slowing her every move like water.

“Not too much farther…my dear.” A cruel voice that sounded sickeningly like a unicorn horn on a chalkboard spoke suddenly. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and yet at the same time seemed to come from all directions. Fluttershy whirled about, already far beyond the point of panic. It was a wonder she didn’t faint, but she stayed on her hooves.

In an instant, Fluttershy was blinded by light coming from directly in front of her. She froze up, unable to move for fear. After a few moments, her eyes adjusted, and she looked around, terrified.

Three unicorns had all lit their horns with a very bright light that lit up the whole cave. They had the exit blocked. The bunny was nowhere to be seen.

“Haha!” a unicorn laughed. “My spell worked! She thought it was a rabbit the whole time!” He had a gruff, low voice to match his scarred face. One eye had a frayed patch over it, which made him all the more frightening. His right eye, the good eye, was red: a harsh, blood red. His coat was a deep gray-green, and his mane was pitch black. He wore a dark brown cloak that covered most of his body up.

“What a foal!” another pony said, his voice thick and lazy, like he didn’t think talking was worth the time. He had a burnt orange coat, with dark blue eyes and a wild red mane. He obviously hadn’t seen as much battle as the other unicorn; he had only one scar: a small cut to the left cheek. He wore metal shoulder pauldrons, almost as if he was prepared for a fight to break out.

“Silence!” commanded the third unicorn. He was the one who had spoken earlier, and was clearly the leader of the group. His eyes, like his coat, were a hard, unforgiving steel gray. His earth brown mane was swept back, long and elegant. He looked nothing like the other two; he didn’t look much like a thug at all. Rather, he looked like a high-class member of society, the type who would stroll into Rarity’s boutique for her most expensive wares. Indeed, he wore a very fancy black jacket with a tie and a dress shirt, looking quite full of himself. “I know we have her in our clutches; I don’t need you foals to remind me!” he grumbled.

The other two unicorns shied away from their leader, as if afraid of him. If even his accomplices were terrified of him, how much worse would he be than what Fluttershy imagined?

The leader turned to Fluttershy after a moment, who was utterly petrified. She stood, shaking, praying that she could find the willpower to open her wings. This effort was futile; as she strained, her wings remained locked at her sides.  

The steel pony watched her for a few seconds in silence, and then chuckled a little to himself. So…pathetic. She couldn’t use her own biological defense to save herself when it counted most. For the first time, Fluttershy met his gaze.

“What do you want? What are you going to do to me?” Fluttershy asked in a whisper, panicking, nearly in tears. This couldn’t be happening, could it?

“Oh, don’t let that trouble you, dear. Leave the worrying up to us,” the leader said quietly, threateningly. His steel eyes flashed with a happy malice, making Fluttershy wonder what was going to happen with dread.

As he advanced, an evil grin on his face, he stopped when a CLOK sound made him stop cold. He whirled around, only to see his two accomplices crumple to the ground, their heads having been smashed together. Behind them was a pegasus, hovering a few inches off the ground on wings of midnight blue.

As the two collapsed, their lights went out, and the pegasus slipped out of sight. The steel pony cursed, then intensified his light; the pegasus was still nowhere to be seen. He could be hiding nearly anywhere in this cave. As the steel-colored pony advanced slowly forward, the shadows danced on the walls, revealing dozens of stalagmites that the pegasus could be hiding behind. The unicorn gulped, knowing that the midnight-hued terror could spring out of nowhere at any time. He took a few tentative steps forward, then shouted “COME OUT, COWARD! FACE ME LIKE A STALLION!” His words reverberated off the walls, echoing loudly. The fear in his voice was almost tangible.

“As you wish,” was the calm reply that came from the pegasus. His voice was smooth, like a stone being skipped across water. The sound did not betray his location, however, merely making it sound like it came from several places at once. The unicorn did a double take, spinning around, searching for the source of the noise. He only stopped moving when he feel a sharp pain to the back of the head as he was bucked to the rear of the skull, then blissfully fell into darkness.

He was not, however, the only one who fell to darkness. As he collapsed, his light went out, leaving Fluttershy and the other pegasus in the dark. Fluttershy finally couldn’t take any more; she broke down crying on the floor. She felt a gentle pair of hooves wrap around her chest, reassuring and warm. For some reason, she trusted this strong grip, that it would take her out of danger. She let him take her up into his grip, felt him fly ever so gently out of the cave, and into the night beyond.

“Th-thank you, m-mister,” Fluttershy managed through her continuing tears. She was put down softly on the grass, where she lay for a moment, collecting herself and managing to stop crying. Then she looked up at her savior. His face was mature, a truly handsome stallion. His azure eyes looked on her with curiosity, with concern. His midnight blue coat complimented his eyes and the night around him. His mane of jet black swooped forward and left, covering most of his left eye, and stretching partway down his cheek. He was as large as Big Macintosh, and certainly looked to be as strong.

“What is your name?” the pegasus asked Fluttershy. His voice was as smooth as glass, tough as nails, beautiful as the moon behind him. For a moment, Fluttershy was silent, almost mesmerized by this pegasus.

“I-I’m Fluttershy,” she managed. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name?” She at least wished to thank her savior properly.

“Can you show me to your home?” he asked Fluttershy, ignoring her question. “I must get you inside, where it is safe.” His voice was almost devoid of any emotion, yet the concern he had for the yellow pegasus’s well being was unmistakable. Fluttershy nodded, and rose to her hooves. She glanced at the cave.

“What about them?” she asked quietly. Her concern was apparent; even though their actions were cruel, Fluttershy hated the idea of seeing another pony hurt.

“They’ll be awake by morning, with splitting headaches, no doubt. They likely won’t remember tonight; I hit them pretty hard. They’re wanderers, so they’ll probably do what they do best: wander.” He sounded sure of their fate. More importantly, he seemed sure of Fluttershy’s safety. He nodded to Fluttershy, reminding her of the task at hoof.

As they walked the path back to Ponyville, Fluttershy noticed something strange about the night around her. Even when she was with her closest friends, she hated being in the woods at night. They were terrifying. With this pegasus at her side, though, she was not afraid. She knew somewhere, deep down, that she ought to be afraid of the stallion himself. He had clearly shown himself to be strong, clever, and dangerous. He could be trying to trick her.

She didn’t care. She was just glad to be in his company. This was most unlike her.

She led the way back through town, with the pegasus at her side. However, they were not alone. Eyes were on the two, observing, taking careful note. The two ventured on, oblivious. The eyes continued to observe, watchfully silent…

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

The two arrived at Fluttershy’s cottage, which looked friendly in the moonlight. As they approached the door, the pegasus stopped. Fluttershy turned to face him, surprised that he was simply going to leave.

“Wait. Can you at least tell me your name?... you know if that’s okay with you, I mean. Sorry…” Fluttershy asked. He looked at her intently for a moment, then sighed.

“I don’t know what I am called,” he said, looking defeated.

“Oh dear. What do you mean?”

“I can’t remember a thing beyond a month or so ago,” he said, eyes downcast.

Fluttershy hated seeing her savior so forlorn. “Well, that’s okay; we can work that out. For now though, I want you in this house. I can’t let your act of heroism go unpaid.” She thought for a moment as he stared at her, then blushed as she realized what could be implied by her request. “I just meant, you know, stay the night here. Rest up. I’ll make you some breakfast. Eep!”

The stallion gave a small laugh, then said, “I understand what you mean. However, I’d hate to be a burden-“

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all! Angel and I love company!” This was of course not entirely true. She virtually never had guests. Well, apart from her animal patients.

“Angel…?”

“Oh, he’s my bunny friend. He’s sure to like you after what you did for me.”

The stallion faltered on seeing the look on Fluttershy’s face. “You’re truly going to insist then, aren’t you?”

“You’d better believe it, mister.” Fluttershy said this with the kind of confidence she only had around close friends. Why was she getting so close to this stallion so fast? He had gotten past her almost tangible wall of pure shy faster than anypony could have ever managed.

The pegasus sighed, then approached the door, opened it, and held it open for the yellow mare. He entered after her, and looked around. This was certainly not what he was used to. He usually slept outside, with only nature and the stars above for company. This felt different, somehow…warmer. Friendlier. This was where a pony could feel he was welcome, that he was accepted and even wanted there.

Here, he felt…out of place. This was not what he was used to.

Fluttershy gestured to a sofa, clearly intending him to sleep there. As he settled in, Fluttershy went and turned out the lights, then came back to him. She found him already asleep. After recovering from the surprise of his sheer speed of losing consciousness, she took a closer look at him. He looked so different when he slept, like all the fight was gone out of him. Even his dangerous aura seemed to be taking a rest. This was a different pony, a more welcoming pony. This must have been why Fluttershy had felt so safe in his hooves, even in the midst of crisis.

She didn’t know what caused her to do it, but she acted on her first instinct: she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, just below where the mane in his face ended.

“Thank you. I owe you my life.” Fluttershy smiled down on the stallion, as he lay there, sleeping, unaware of anything. He simply… was.

That was when she noticed it. he did not have a cutie mark. She pondered for a moment, but, giving up, she retired to her room.

As she settled in for bed, Fluttershy wondered to herself why she had kissed him. He hadn’t been awake, so it was as if it never happened, right? She knew even as she thought such things that they were not true. What would the other ponies think of him? What would they think of her? Surely they would find out about him staying the night at her cottage. They could draw the wrong conclusions, which could lead to a lot of awkwardness. She hoped it wouldn’t affect their friendship.

However, as she went back to thinking about the pegasus, she was once again put at ease, even by the mere thought of him. Something about that pony was different. And she liked it.

Downstairs, a pegasus lay there, eyes closed but very much awake, trying to solve the puzzle of why she had pressed her face against his like that. He too pondered for a moment, but likewise to his host had given up solving the problem and gone to sleep.

He stood on top of a hill; a hill of stone. The surrounding area was little different: rocks and mountains stretched as far as the eye could see. There was little friendliness in these stones; their aura was that of cold indifference. They didn’t care that he was there, didn’t bother themselves with his company.

Then he looked at the sky. Dark. So dark. This was darker than any night he had ever seen. The blackness made him fearful, but why? He wasn’t afraid of the dark. Only what was in it frightened him.

So what was in it?

It was then that he heard the laughter. Terrible and cruel, it clearly enjoyed his fear. The pegasus whirled around, then screamed as pain shot through him-

The pegasus woke with a start. He was drenched in a cold sweat. He lay there in silence, contemplating, destined to not be getting back to sleep that night.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fluttershy woke to the gentle calls of the birds through her window. She yawned, stretched, and got out of her bed. As she brushed her mane, she wondered what to have for breakfast. Of course, she’d have to make some for-

him. The memories of the night rushed back to her, like a tidal wave of mixed emotions. He had saved her, and now he was staying in her home. She was making him breakfast.

And she had kissed him. Oh, Celestia!

She came down the stairs to find the stallion sitting up silently on the sofa. He had clearly not slept well, or enough for that matter. He simply looked at Fluttershy and gave the slightest smile, so brief that she almost missed it, before it was gone, like the snows of yesteryear. She returned the small smile, but hers lingered, even when she went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

They remained silent until Fluttershy served the pegasus some of her finest pancakes and muffins. He broke the silence with a “Thank you,” but the silence was destined to return as he and she dug in. Or rather, Fluttershy, hungry from the night’s ordeal, dug in. The blue pegasus ate only a few bites of each thing on his plate.

Oh no. He hates my cooking. He hates it! Oh no, Fluttershy thought to herself, terrified. “Are you... not hungry?” she asked, deathly afraid to hear the answer. He nodded. “Oh dear, you hate it, don’t you?” she asked, the floodgates of her fears opening up. She internally bucked herself for saying that aloud. How rude!

He looked up at her. “Actually,” he said, “I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. I’m honestly just not hungry right now. I assure you, this is by far the best food I’ve had that I can remember.” Fluttershy blushed.

She asked him, “Why didn’t you get enough sleep? Was the sofa uncomfortable?”

“Not in the slightest. It was just...” he paused, clearly embarrassed to admit the truth, “I had a dream. A terrible dream. I couldn’t get back to sleep.” He hung his head in shame. What kind of hero gets scared of a bad dream?

“Oh, that’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Fluttershy assured. “I have nightmares all the time, and they always keep me up.”

“Nightmare...” the pegasus said softly, then shook his head. Then he simply hung his head again. His pride had clearly suffered a sucker punch.

Fluttershy couldn’t stand to see somepony so upset. She got up, crossed to him, and gently nudged him out of his chair and over to the sofa. She sat down next to him, and brought her wings around him in a warm, soft embrace. “There now,” she said, her expertise with comforting animals coming in handy here, “shhh. It’ll all be okay. It happens to everypony. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, I promise.”

At least, that’s what she wished she’d done. Instead, her shyness overtook her, and they sat side by side on the sofa silently. She tried her best to open her mouth, but try as she might, her lips were as sealed as death. Now instead of comforting him, she had just led him to the sofa to sit in a most exquisitely awkward silence.

She sighed, but only in her head. Her mouth still refused to open.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my…” Rainbow Dash had been squeakily ecstatic all morning. She was so excited that she once again missed the door of the library as she barreled into the (fortunately) open window. Twilight Sparkle was lying in the library, doing what she did best: studying. She looked up with moderate annoyance as Rainbow Dash zoomed into the room, the wind from her speed causing her papers to flutter up.

“Oops, heh heh,” Rainbow chuckled as the papers settled. “Twilight, you’re never going to believe this! It’s so amazing! I’d have never thought it…” It was clear that Rainbow was bursting at the seams with energy.

“Listen, Dash, I’m not a pegasus, so I really can’t share your enthusiasm for the Wonderbolts. Why don’t you talk to a pegasus about it, like Fluttershy, or-“

“That’s just it!”

“What’s just it?” Twilight was now actually taking interest.

“Fluttershy! I saw her last night, around one o’clock, with a stallion! They were walking, alone, and went together up to her house, and he never came back! I think he spent the night there! Fluttershy, she has herself a coltfriend!”

“What?! That’s wonderful! We should go congratulate her!” Twilight exclaimed. Twilight stopped as she approached the door, then turned and eyed Rainbow suspiciously. “Rainbow, what were you doing out last night at one o’clock in the morning? Were you spying?”

“Uhh, heh heh, I was just, you know…practicing.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Practicing?”

Dash glanced around. “You know, nighttime maneuvers.”

“O-kay then Dash,” Twilight said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

She and Rainbow Dash ventured over to Pinkie Pie’s to share the news. At first, they were hesitant, knowing that Pinkie would surely throw a party for the occasion, but eventually they decided she deserved to know. Naturally, she took the news as one would expect Pinkie Pie to:

“OH my goodgollygosh! How wonderfullymazing! AreyouexcitediknowiamthisissogreaticantwaittoseeFluttershyandOOOOHHHH!!!    You know what this calls for?? A PAR-”

“Pinkie, please, let’s not have a party over this,” Twilight said, exasperated. Pinkie was a mouthful. “Let’s give Fluttershy some space and privacy with this.”

Pinkie stopped mid-bounce, apparently immune to gravity’s effects. “Aww,

you’re probably right. But I want to be the one to throw her wedding party!”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions, Pinkie,” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. “It might not work out between this pony and her, after all. In fact, we’re not even sure if he’s her coltfriend. We’ll just have to see…”

Rarity and Applejack took the news happily as well; they had been together in Rarity’s boutique, Rarity forcing Applejack into another dress for Grannie Smith’s upcoming birthday party, when the trio found them. While they didn’t agree on many things, they positively hugged and squealed like schoolfillies when they heard Fluttershy was, well, Fluttersmitten.

They ventured up the trail to Fluttershy’s cottage in the middle of the morning. Twilight knocked on the door, and when the door opened, it was not Fluttershy, as Twilight had expected, but a considerably taller pony. His azure eyes gazed into the purple ones, and after a moment, the stallion blinked, opening the doorway to the ponies. They all stared for a moment at the midnight blue pegasus, taking him in.

He looked at them quizzically, wondering why they didn’t come in, and why they stared at him. Fortunately, Fluttershy entered the scene, breaking the silence.

“Uhm, girls, this is my friend. He saved me last night from some ruffians, so invited him to stay the night. I’m sure it looks pretty different from your point of view, but……sorry.” She broke off there, unable to continue.

Awkward silence dominated the room, until Pinkie suddenly squealed, “Yeeeeee!! Fluttershy has a coltfriend!” at which all the mares except Fluttershy began giggling uncontrollably. Fluttershy, looking flustered, blushed brightly, and said something too quiet to hear. The stallion stood silently, apparently unaware of all the commotion. When all the laughter subsided, Fluttershy stood in the center of her friends.

“Please believe me girls, he and I aren’t dating. He’s not from here, so I offered him a place to stay. I wouldn’t just let him stay out in the night.”

“Ohhh, a pony from out of town,” Rarity said, then maneuvered her way right next to the stallion. “So where are you from, hmmm?” She seemed unlike her usual, proper self, even giggling when she’d finished speaking.

“………”

“Oh dear, I’m sorry. He can’t remember where he’s from right now. In fact, he can’t remember much anything beyond a few weeks back,” Fluttershy intervened.

“How awful! I’d simply hate not remembering anything! It must be terrible, darling!” Rarity used this opportunity to give the pegasus a hug, dramatically feigning sympathy. The pegasus didn’t move, apart from looking down at Rarity in moderate surprise. After a moment, however, Rarity caught herself and backed away, blushing and flustered.

“Wait,” Twilight said, wishing to change the subject, “you mentioned some ruffians? Are you okay? What happened? Who-”

“So wait... ya don’t remember anything? Like, nothing?” Applejack interrupted, looking baffled, unable to hold her tongue.

“Not beyond a few weeks, no,” he responded sadly.

“Well…okay then. How’s about we figure out what we can know about ya, fella?” Applejack took a much more disinterested approach than Rarity, which the pegasus appreciated.

The ponies didn’t manage to learn much from the pegasus. He only remembered waking up in the forest a few weeks ago with a terrible headache. He remembered no name, had no cutie mark, and was generally disoriented. He wandered into the first place with civilization he saw, only to be attacked by thieves when he came to into the nearby city of Fillydelphia.

The pegasus was surprised to find that combat came naturally, as he recounted the tale of defeating the crooks with ease. Since then, he had wandered the forest, no direction in mind, but not wanting to be around other ponies. He had decided he was too dangerous, especially since he didn’t know who he was. He seemed rather distressed when he spoke of how unsure he was of anything. The girls felt terrible for him, having to undergo such a rough life alone. It was a much different life than the ones they were used to. Pinkie Pie was animatedly crying, her eyes like fountains.

Then the rest was history. He noticed Fluttershy enter the cave, looking terrified, which he found suspicious. Fortunately, he came at exactly the right time. Fluttershy had to chime in often at this part when she felt he was being too modest.

What was it about this pegasus that had Fluttershy so atwitter? Would it really be a bad thing if this stallion were her coltfriend? Would she ever actually be able to defeat her shyness to get through to him? Fluttershy wondered these things to herself while the girls tried unsuccessfully to pry more details out of his story.

“Well can you at least let us name you so we can quit calling you ‘you’? I mean, you’re obviously not going to have an easy time remembering your own name, are you?” Rainbow Dash asked of the pegasus. He hesitated, then silently nodded.

“Oh! Oh-oh-oh! This is soooo much fun!” Pinkie Pie shouted gleefully. “Uhhh, how about Big Blue? No! Azure Feathers? No! Blueberry, Blueberry! No-“

“Take a deep breath, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash laughed.

It wasn’t until Pinkie stopped to breathe that they heard the screaming. It was quiet, but it pervaded the whole room nonetheless. The ponies all looked around, wondering what it could have been.  It grew steadily louder, which concerned them greatly. It was when it seemed to reach unhealthy volumes that the door of the cottage burst open.

It was Derpy Hooves, and she looked positively terrified. Her eyes wide, her mouth a perfect “O.” She sprinted to the center of the room, where she stood for a moment, then collapsed onto the ground, falling suddenly silent. Each pony was as dumbfounded as the next. Fluttershy was curled up in the corner, quaking. Twilight slowly approached Derpy, concern and fear in her eyes. She gingerly put a hoof on her shoulder, shaking her gently.

Derpy then sat bolt upright, laughing loudly. Not a crazed laugh, but a fun-loving giggle. Naturally, the ponies nevertheless jumped out of their skins.

“Hahaha! Gotcha!” Derpy laughed, applauding her comedic genius. However, she wasn’t the only one laughing: there was a faint sound of laughter coming from outside. The ponies all looked suspiciously in the direction of the source of laughter. That was when she came in the open door.

Princess Luna was laughing lightly, apologizing as she giggled. “I know it was a mean prank, but was it not it funny?” she asked between chuckles. “I have not had a good laugh in a long time. Derpy sure is a riot.” Upon hearing her name, said pegasus leaped up and ran to the kitchen, where she saw some leftover muffins from the morning’s meal, and happily chowed down.

Most of the ponies were bowing, trying not to laugh themselves, more out of relief than anything. Twilight hoped that Luna was doing well. Her last visit to Ponyville had been, well, eventful. Maybe now Luna was a different pony. She certainly seemed to be getting along with the mailmare, at the very least.

To Twilight’s relief, Luna said, “Oh goodness, I don’t want you to bow for me! This visit is informal! But thank you anyway.” She had obviously adopted a much more relaxed personality now that she had made some friends.

That was when she noticed one pony wasn’t bowing. In fact, he hadn’t moved since she entered the cottage. The thus-far-unnamed pegasus was simply staring at her, a strange look in his eyes. At first glance, nothing was peculiar about it. But then Luna saw what lay beneath the surface: fear. Absolute, terrible fear. It pervaded his gaze; little traces of its presence existed everywhere.

Luna gave him a concerned look, then asked, “Is everything alright?” Had she really frightened yet another pony without meaning to? However, things certainly were not at all right. The pegasus backed up, slowly, cautiously, towards the back door. By this time, all the ponies were standing and staring at this strange behavior. The moment the pegasus felt his back hooves hit grass, he was flying, fast, away from the cottage. He headed for the forest, where the ponies noticed a storm brewing.

“What the hay is he doing!” Applejack broke the stunned silence. The ponies bolted out of the cottage, only to stop at the edge of the Everfree Forest. The storm looked like it was coming in fast. The morning light, once cheerful and bright, was masked by clouds.

“Hey! It’s not supposed to rain today! What’s this about?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“We have to go after him!” Fluttershy shouted, not at all sounding like herself. Where was the shyness that they had all grown to be used to? She looked at them all in turn, and eventually came to look at Luna. “Princess, why did he run away?”

“My dear, I have no idea,” Luna answered sadly. Then she stopped for a moment. “But… he did seem familiar.” She had a curious look on her face, as if she had just remembered something, but was still confused.

The rest of the ponies were gazing at the clouds fearfully. This was going to be one hay of a storm.

And he had just flown into the middle of it.